Who says it takes to long?

Ok this quick post is for my "Assistant Team Director" who is always chewing me out for the time between our rides and my getting the photos posted!
So here are a few photos from Bavington this past Sunday.
Sorry but i forgot to place my camera in my jersey pocket before leaving the car so we are missing actual trail photos. But let me tell you how great they where! A little snow covered but fun!
Several new folks (to me) showed up and since I jacked up "GW"s name a few weeks ago (and yes I'm still hearing about it) I'm afraid to even try to list their names so until I get an official sign in sheet from Mike I'll refrain from trying. Also GW I made the correction to your name (initials) in that post so stop harassing me, please.

Moe's for eats after the awesome ride.

My look of disgust as Mike complains about the time it takes me to get these photos up! Bla blaa bla blaa, bla blaa bla bla bla blaaa whatever...

who says it takes to long???

later

stork

Finally the Ferrous comes to Life

My Saturday started out @ work but quickly I found myself at the Cranberry store staring at these parts. What are they? well they are a new set of Avid Juicy Carbon brakes. Wow are they nice. I could go on and on about the innovative ideas I see in these but I won't bore you. So I started the official build of the Ferrous with a couple of hours hanging out, drinking coffee, and mounting things like the fork (Reba Race 29er), King headset, Bontrager X lite carbon bar, Bontrager Race stem and these brakes. I finally got the urge to return home to the the other parts that where awaiting to be bolted onto this frame I said my goodbyes to the shop employees, gathered up the almost complete bike and departed.

Once arriving home I filtered through my shelves for all the other goodies I had to install for the drivetrain. Lets see how about a Boone Ti rear cog, oh yea lets add a Boone Ti Chain ring cut to mount right to the XTR M952 cranks. Then lets complete it with a really cool KMC S10 stainless singlespeed chain how pretty! Ok are you drooling on the keyboard, no? Well I am this thing looks sleek with the small diameter tubing and the tricked out black paint. In fact I had to cage the beast before leaving for the night due to its desire to move! This bike looks fast! So here are a few photo's but not to many. If you really want a good look stop by one of the Trek of Pittsburgh store, it just maybe hanging out. No worries if you can't get there. I'll be posting a few photos daily over the next week.

After all that bike building I took a break and meet up with my Godchild Hannah and her awesome sister Jilly for some coffee and pie.

Your looking at 3 of the fastest pairs of legs in Butler! Jilly and Hannah are both track stars! Hannah currently at the High school level and Jilly at the college level and I of course ride the bicycle, sometimes i even do it fast. Ok your right 2 of the fastest pairs of legs, who am I to think I had a fast pair of legs?

Love ya Hannah & Jill

Goodnight

stork

Last sundays ride, finally.

Good Morning Folks, first thing I must do is say "Welcome Back Alex!" Last night TJ picked Alex up for a long overdue visit. We all miss the little guy. Love ya Alex!

Last week I rode at Bavington on Sunday morning with the Trek of Pittsburgh shop employees. We meet at the Robinson Store @ 9am before we started our caravan over to the trails. Christian, Adam, Corey, Soupie, Jeff, GW, Tim Lyons, Mike along his "hot" wife and myself. Not much to say about this ride except that it was a good time and the temp was around 24 degrees. The trials where mostly snow covered and frozen which proved to make for a great day of riding. Here are some photos from that day.

This is GW



Ahhh there's Mikes "hot" wife! aka Lola ,boy was she hard to shake in the trials. Most of the morning she hung right in there behind the ride leaders. I hope Michelle (my girlfriend) and her can get together for a ride because it would be benificial for the both of them.


later
stork

Whats This Life For?

Hurray for a child
That makes it through
If there's any way
Because the answer lies in you
They're laid to rest
Before they know just what to do
Their souls are lost
Because they could never find
What's this life for

I answered the phone on my drive home only to hear a voice from someone that I hadn't talked to in some time. It was a nice surprise to say the least. She proceeded to tell me how her life had changed so much lately and that she wasn't enjoying it very much. At the age of 23 she didn't feel like she fit in well with the newcomers at her new college yet she didn't have any real close friends there her age. This particular girl has had some difficulty with her previous college and was given no other choice than to transfer, which I could tell by the tone of her voice was a very hard move to make. She was feeling betrayed by the very college that she bleed white and green for and now was trying to figure out what to do with this new situation. Since she ran track for the other school and had competed against the very school she was now attending she struggled with her loyalty. Asking me how she could possibly show up and run against her old teammates? Now I'm not a very educated man to say the least but I have lived many "life lessons" so how do you go about convincing someone that the situation they face in life is good? I thought for a moment until realizing the words from the Creed song above. Yea I just maybe able to help her through this because the answer lies within me!


I explained how she must do what is needed to succeed with getting her diploma and if that meant changing colors and competing against her old school then so be it. She must do whats best for life and hopefully the girls from her previous team understand this. This new school has offered her the opportunity to pursue her love and passion for sports by excepting her into their program, true they didn't take all the credits but I explained that the previous school had taken her possibilities of obtaining this through them away. She was expressing resentment towards the wrong school. We talked for sometime until I needed to cut it off, but I found myself riding in the night snow thinking about Jill and her situation. I hope she thinks long and hard about the roads in front of her and someday can tell me that I helped by being there when she needed.


Jill has been an excellent runner since High school but sometimes lacks the confidence in herself that's needed to reach the next step and let me be the first to say that its only her that thinks this. Many others have shown their confidence in Jill by scholarships and such but she has yet to realize this.
Whats the purpose of this post? Whats this life for? Well its for having fun which is riding bikes for me and for making sure you help someone along the way.

Jill you're a great "kid" so put your head up buckle down and kick some butt.

Good luck at school this year!

xoxo
Cousin stork

Winters at Bavington

The first winter adventure at Bavington of 2007 had an overriding essence of revision. It started with new friends and coworkers congregating at a familiar location with different attire and diverse equipment. A certainly altered atmosphere from my usual Sundays of the past three winters. Almost everything has leaped head first into a spiral of recently well-received chaos. My thanks to many for the support in difficult times, and even more to the "little-man" for the constant admonition of what our aim will always be. Happiness. My what a holy reality to find myself in.
This morning the greeting I welcome is from an accepted outsider looking for advice and guidance in matters Travis and I specialize in, going fast between April and October. After delaying as long as possible at Eat'n Park, we pile the gear into the Element, leave for Bavington, and establish an agenda for the day. Today is penciled in as a "test-day" with her new Sigma Sports PC 15 Heart rate Monitor. There are a ton of useful features in this monitor for riders and coaches at any ability level. It is also simple to navigate through to access all of the important data, before, during, and after workouts. The "client" today is an I.T. major in an internship with a big Internet company, so learning how to operate this relatively mundane devise came quite easy. Understanding the data flashing, and beeping, on the screen, well, that is my job. Just a few key features to note and why this will be the top-shelf HRM at our store: Total time, Kcal, Total Kcal, % of Max, and a visual and audio zone alarm. The total kcal and total time feature can be reset at the user's discretion. Weekly. Monthly. Daily. Whatever. What a darn handy training tool for all caliber riders and racers.
The conditions today couldn't have been any more sublime. It is almost possible to say that Bavington's winter riding could overshadow it's summer riding. It is almost completely void of thorns, cobwebs, and pesky stinging insects. The ground is also frozen and fast, almost semi-slick terrain.
During our three hour heart-rate monitor testing endeavour about a quarter inch of fluffy snow accumulated, adding even more to the enjoyment. Perfect winter mountain biking only a half hour west of Robinson Town Centre. Every Sunday, all winter long, the Trek of Pittsburgh staff hosts intermediate to advanced rides at Bavington which meet at the Robinson Trek location at 8:45am. Call Saturday during regular business hours for details and equipment recommendations. Also available to a small fee. Demo Bikes!! Call for details (412)788-TREK

TJ- The Absent Author

Ok Some of you have probably noticed that I had invited TJ to post on my site some time ago. You also probably noticed that he never has yet! Well I have been bustin' his chops about it weekly but its always "I've been busy but I'm workin' on it". So last week he had this really "off" ride and started telling me about it until I quickly cut him short. "Dude I don't want to hear about it, post it and I'll read it" He again whined like a 5 year old eating brussel sprouts, but, but, but! But nothing just post it. So when I received an e-mail tonight telling me he had written a post but was unable to log on, well my surprise was indescribable. So without further waiting the following is TJs first post.
Forever the Frame pump

Hey Hog-Nuts, (this is a friendly name we use for anybody)

I'm here at work. Alone. Saturday night. Nothing keeping me sane but Tool's Anemia album blaring on Don's expensive outdoor speakers, a warm cup of fresh coffee from Nick, and the thought of something to write on your Blog in my otherwise static-filled head. Unfortunately, I've already committed to this endeavour with this mild diuretic in hand, or I would go home and try to watch the back of my eyelids. I might as well keep moving forward though, this needs to be started sooner or later. Forty-six and 2 is adding some motivation as well.

I was going to post something about the extravaganza that happened Wednesday on the hybrid/commuter out near my place on the dirt roads of Indiana County. You know, with the punctured tyre, faulty tube, poe-dunk gas station with one patch left, and only 790 kcal out of 2200 completed. I assure you in would have been interesting for your massive fan-base. It was perhaps going to be titled; "Forever the Frame-pump" or "Another day. Another Flat. Wonderful stories from within training miles of Pro mountain-bike knuckleheads" Something along those lines. Or perhaps I was going to blog about how it is difficult to ride in a blizzard without a cycling cap. Or maybe even the new Bontrager Race Lite saddle I'm falling in love with. The Tubeless 29'r wheels we received from T.O. would have been an interesting topic to post something about too. You know, my opinion for people to kill free time reading instead of doing something else more constructive.

But. I can't. The invitation to be your friend on your website has expired. However, I think you discontinued your friendship with me, and it is all over this Sunday. I know what you're going to say; "ohhh, I see how it is TJ. You have a NEW friend now. Miss (Name Left out for Legal reasons). You can't ride with me anymore. My ankles are too thin and my smile isn't as nice. Plus I don't use Bath & Body works shower products! " Well Mr. Saeler you're wrong. It is my "off" week, so I'm taking it easy on the fixed gear. I'm not going to spend every Sunday riding 5 to 6 hours with you and only you. Get over it. Besides, I'm also taking YOUR woman as well. To breakfast even. You can have fun riding with Tim Lyons. He's borderline retarded anyway, you two will get along fine. But just remember one thing pal, he was my friend first, and he likes Cranberry way more than Robinson. They Suck, especially Christian and Casey. Tim Lyons likes us way better!! Ohh, and Adam B. is my friend first too. You can have Bob Myers, The Don, and Nick as your #1 friends!

Well Travis Saeler. I'm done harassing you on your own website. I'll see you Monday and we'll beat the hell out of one another next Sunday at Kennerdell. The #1 destination in my book, the place rocks!

We'll see you on the flip side. More to be posted as it rolls out of my skull-box. Don't forget your frame-pump, patch kit, and sanity.

Christian, Casey, and the rest of the Robinson Crew. You rock!
Tim, you said it first.


Travis, I'm saving this, But this is what I planned on posting...
talk to ya.
tj

There you have, TJs first and last post since we are no longer friends. Not really its all part of the sarcasm that keeps us sane. I'm really not upset that he won't ride with me and me only. I understand he is unable to maintain my stringent training schedule. Lots of Love Buddy

stork

Getting Schooled

What a great time everyone had on Wednesday. The Trek Rep aka Bob Myers was in the Pittsburgh area making some rounds so he paid a visit to a couple of the Trek of Pittsburgh stores (soon to be opening the Shadyside location) during the day and ended up at the Cranberry location late in the afternoon/early evening. So I headed over to the shop in order to get in on the informal classes he was giving the girls ( Tanya aka Bonnie & Janet). It really wasn't any type of class but more like a question & answer period. It was very cool to listen in and I even got the chance to ask a few questions. Bob gave a great overview on some of the more elite products that the Trek Family is responsible for and he did a wonderful job laying out the past history of the company and its affiliates. He explained just how Trek produces some of its carbon fiber bikes and how they use a Trek specific aluminum for their frames. He also went into detail explaining the Trek relationship with Bontrager and just how much of Keith Bontragers personal input is directed into the wheelworks portion of Bontrager.






Tension enters the Conversation!
"Listen hear Don, like I said I was just trying to help, if you don't want help then tell me and I'll leave!"


After hanging out for awhile we got another surprise when Don aka the owner aka DonO stopped in to do some work which, by the looks of us standing around, we where not doing! Following a few sharp words between Don, Bob and the girls about work ethics, pictured above, which Don clearly won by explaining that he writes the checks for these employees, we all quietly separated, but not before Bob got one more word in just to show his authority.


Really it wasn't quit that harsh in fact it wasn't anything like that at all but it is cool how you can create a scene from a simple photo. Don and Bob actually get along well as they should. Both guys are great business men and have respect for each other. We caught up with Don for a few minutes and invited him to dinner but since he had painting to do he declined so Bob, Michelle and I went with him. Since we where in the shopping plaza it was easier to pick a place right there, so Smokey Bones won the draw!
Wow this was my first time inside Smokey Bones and the smell of meat hit me like a runaway pickup truck driven by a crack dealer on "Cops". We sat down and immediately started talking about bikes, people and places we've ridden. Bob started dropping names like hand grenades, boy does this dude know people. Keith Bontager, Lance Armstrong, Gunner Shogren, Greg LeMond and many many more that I slightly recognized. We finally finished eating so we headed back to my house where the conversation continued until after 11pm.


Bob doing some business from my "home office"

The following morning Bob and I hit Eat'n Park for a quick breakfast before he needed to get rolling toward Meadville. I have to give a big shout out to Bob for spending some time with Michelle and I. He really is a great dude and I consider him a good friend. Keep a look out for his personal blog which we will be getting set up soon in fact I'll put a post up once we get it running smoothly.

Happy Trails Bob and thanks for all your commitment and support to the local Trek shops!

Oh yea this dude asked me to post his photo for the women..........

Hello Ladies!

stork

DCNR, Masons and Cycling?

Since the weather in our area has been so wet lately I decided to attend my Masonic Lodge meeting which I haven't been to for awhile due to my training schedule. Another individual (also a Masonic Brother) I work with told me that the guest speaker was the Head Ranger, Rick Carson, (haha Ranger Rick yea,yea) from Moraine State Park which, for those of you from outside this area, is a large state park that contains one of the most notorious mountain bike trials in western pa.Not the usually attire I'm seen in but I have to uphold the image of the Masonic Lodge

I was looking forward to meeting Rick and how cool was it that I would get the chance to talk with someone about my biking while attending a Lodge meeting which has nothing to do with biking! Now let me tell you that the other Brothers have supported me more than once with my biking adventures. Several times donating to my charity rides for MS and always offering shelter or water to me when traveling past their homes. I'm very proud to be a member of such a grand fraternity, but under normal circumstances meetings have little to do with cycling so this evening was a treat for me.

After our normal meeting Rick was introduced to the members and he talked with us one on one for a few moments before his program. At this time I introduced myself and the two of us talked about a Mr. Greenlee (who built the original trail) and also about the new group that has been adding mileage to the existing 6.5 mile rock trail! He was expressing his amazement at how people can even ride parts of the trail. He also talked about the few times he had to help injured people out of the trail.Next he started into his program and again I was very impressed with the DCNR Employees knowledge of not only their park and things within it, but also his knowledge of the surrounding parks. Since my cousin is a Park Manager @ Sizerville and I've gotten the chance to meet people from the Regional Office there, I was able to ask some questions that Rick doesn't normally hear. Never once did he stumble but always had the answers to our questions.

I know I've said this before but we are really lucky to have the use of so many state parks and forests all for FREE! Rick was under the impression that PA was one of only 4 to 5 states left with free day use of the Parks. Come on people get out there and use them! Many have biking trails and many more are looking at opening trails up to bikes. Our Park employees are friendly knowledgeable people who love the outdoors. They love to talk about the animals, the environment, hiking, biking, boating and recreational use of their parks and they make great friends too!

Anyway it was a nice evening visiting with my Masonic Brothers and getting the chance to learn more about my local state park Moraine. Thanks to all involved and if you are in the area of Moraine or McConnell's Mill take the time to make a memory there. In fact look Rick up at the Park Office or contact the Park @ 724-368-8811 links http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/

As for my Masonic Lodge (Victory Lodge 694) well your on your own there!

Brother Stork

Its the Gift that keeps on giving, Clark!

I got home the other night and once again a box awaited me on the back porch. How exciting it is to find something like this. I couldn't wait to get it inside and opened. I tried to stay calm by going in and taking my time by first checking e-mail and then plugging my laptop in to charge. I even called my buddy TJ and told him that the "box" was in my basement. He asked how it looked and I replied "brown". "No! not the box you idiot I mean the frame" he replied. Oh that? I haven't opened it yet. With that I hung up and ventured downstairs to unbox my gift.

I knew what was in the box because I had chosen the model and the custom paint but what made this so exciting is that this particular frame is unavailable to most shops until sometime in late Feb/Early March and along with most people I myself had never actually seen one. Most of these frames are only in the raw stage of production in Waterloo (Trek/Fisher Factory) so all the guys at ToP where going to want to see this frame and I had one!

Here it comes! Any guesses? Yep its a Fisher! Of course its a 29er! Nope not a 2007 Rig or a Supercal.

Its the brand new Gary Fisher Ferrous 29er. Which is a high end super light TrueTemper OX Platinum Steel Tube Frame. Yea Steel. I haven't gotten a chance to weight it yet but it feels light and boy is this a stylish frame. In my 5 years of riding I have never ridden a steel frame bike. So far they have all been aluminum or titanium and i'm really looking forward to riding this steel horse soon. It comes with a really cool eccentric bottom bracket so it can be set up as a single or multi geared machine.
Ok Thats all the pictures for the moment. If your really interested then check back in the future for another post with better photos of the frame.

later

stork

Christmas Continues, 4 Me!

Well the holidays maybe officially over but for me it's been carried over for a few more weeks. I arrived home the last night to find a surprise package containing a set of the new Bontrager Race X Lite TLR Tubeless Ready 29er wheelsets. Let me be the first to tell just how sweet these look and talk about light, Yea they're light in fact so light that my inside contact at Fisher had to weight down the box for shipping. He told me that when he originally took the box to the shipping dept. that UPS would have had to pay him to ship it and they wouldn't allow that. So he had to stuff some small items into the box. The UPS carrier thought maybe he was trying to ship Helium in a box and at first asked to open and inspect the package all the while explaining that UPS will not ship gases. Eventually they got it straightened out by adding some weight and here it is. Fabulous!

Anyone of you folks out there that ride understand the feelings of receiving, opening and handeling such packages. Its better than most Christmas gifts!

Ok I'm so excited, so I'm boxing these back up and placing them in the new bike parts bin for my future build (hint: look for a post soon when I get the frame for this, its already shipped) and I'm going out for a night ride.

stork